Single engine at night.
What do you do in the case of a forced landing? One instructor I knew had this advice:
"Glide straight ahead. At 100' put the landing light on. If you don't like what you see, turn it off again!"
In my case, single engine at night is only with a parchute!
As for my other preferences, VMC on top: not a problem unless there's terrain sticking up into the clouds (thinking of the engine failure case) and SE over the water: only with lifejackets and a dinghy.